Another Season on the Island

I made it back from Mexico feeling grateful and settled, happy to have gone and happy to be home. Things I will miss: the body wrapping heat, delicious food, friends I see too rarely, old pre-Hispanic ruins scattered everywhere, and practicing Spanish. Things I won't miss: the constant noise in cities large and small, always being on my guard, buying drinking water, and taking cold showers.

And now it's back to Orcas Island, where I will live in the same yurt as last year for another summer. I love the quiet of the woods, the dark sky with bright stars, the deer everywhere, the small community of familiar faces, the flowers blooming, and being near the water all the time.